- Author: Trisha Rose
Just went out to hang up my flag, it just seems like the right thing to do today. With such big changes in the news, I just feel like a little pride of place is due. On my way out the front door I notice something a little different. My Christmas Cactus is blooming, not a bunch of flowers but enough to notice with many buds ready to pop open to join in the celebration. My gosh, thought I better look this one up. Botanically known as Schlumbergera species these plants are native to the tropical forests of Brazil. The Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), the Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) and Easter Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaetner) look very similar. Theses three species are members of the group of cacti known as "leaf cacti".
Okay, now only more confusion. Do I have a Christmas Cactus or a similar relative? Apparently a real Christmas Cactus will have smooth scalloped stem segments and bloom at the stem tip. Thanksgiving Cacti have 2-4 pointy teeth along the edges of these segments and will bloom earlier if left to natural day-length. Easter Cacti have rounded teeth along the segments and will bloom primarily in the spring and may re-bloom at other times of the year. The flowers of the Easter Cactus are star-shaped rather than the fuchsia-like flowers seen on the Christmas and Thanksgiving Cacti. The key to blooming seems to be the amount of "darkness" the plant receives. The Christmas Cactus will bloom when it receives a good 12 hours of darkness for a length of time. But it may also bloom if it is exposed to temperatures between 50 to 55 degrees for a length of time.
My plant is most likely a Thanksgiving Cactus variety. It has two rounded teeth along the segments with an additional tooth positioned near the top of the segments, although the position and prominence of these teeth vary with each segment. The margins are tinged red due to the sun exposure this plant is receiving. Pruning after flowering which will promote branching and the cuttings can be propagated in moist vermiculite.
My take-away from this, plants bloom when they feel like it, and who doesn't like to see a cactus flower?